Las Vegas is seldom sentimental about erasing the traces of its past, but as casino after casino upgrades its image, eschewing "vulgar" neon in favor of "classy" gilt trimmings, dewy-eyed preservationists have campaigned to save its abandoned neon glories. As a result, the block between the end of the canopied section of Fremont Street at Fourth Street, and Las Vegas Boulevard to the east, has been grandly designated as the Neon Museum .

This open-air neon graveyard displays restored and fully functional signs gathered from all over the city. Some of these winking, blinking, garish delights are perched on street-level pedestals; larger examples cling to the corners of adjacent offices or parking lots. The oldest piece is a classic "Red Indian" motel sign that adorned the Chief Hotel Court in 1940; others include the Horse and Rider from the Hacienda , demolished to make way for Mandalay Bay .

You might expect the intersection of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard to be one of the busiest, most vibrant locations in the city. If so, you'll probably be bemused by its current seedy and run-down state, but successive Las Vegas mayors have been working hard to turn the situation around. For several years, and despite repeated postponements, an entire block of Fremont Street here has been due to become Neonopolis . At the time of writing, the complex was due to open in 2002, anchored by a fourteen-screen movie theater and a Jillian's restaurant-cum-nightclub-cum "bowling experience."

Neon Museum

• Neon Museum

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